the question, what are we doing there. >> when are we going to get out? >> all right. thank you so much for watching today. we greatly appreciate it. we hope you enjoyed the show. we will see you tomorrow. mike, if it is way too early, what time sit? >> time for "morning joe." more importantly now, it is time for chuck todd. chuck, take it away. 13 days, seven states, two candidates, one big election. both campaigns say the numbers are in their favor. but president obama and governor romney are barnstorming coast to coast in a race against the clock. right now it is 3-2-1 countdown as in 321 hours until the first polls close. meanwhile in the nation's heartland could republican's senate nominee richard murdoch take romney down with him? among undecided suburban women voters in other states. and you have to pull up a chair to see the latest ad from clint eastwood.

he is lending his now unmistakable voice to a new tv ad by the country's biggest republican super pac. good morning from chicago. it is 13 days until election day. as we told you, wednesday, october 24, 2012. this is "the daily run-down." i am chuck todd. let's get to the first reads of the morning. president obama and governor romney crisscrossed the country today with a new urgency. though the campaigns are still fighting over a slice of undecided voters, just look at their schedules and it is clear the focus really is more on turning out their own voters. the base voters. the president. he begins a frenetic 48-hour tour which will take in to iowa, colorado, california for jay leno, back to nevada, by the way that's today. while in los angeles, of course, the president will sit down with the tonight show jay leno. katy perry will make an appearance for the president. friday the president sits down with sway calloway for an mtv special where he will take questions from young voters. i know i'm not young anymore

because i don't know who sway calloway is with mtv. my apologies on that. romney schad tows president in iowa. nevada today. stumping in south cedar rapids while the president hits davenport and reno ahead of the president's las vegas appearance. romney got his own celebrity backup last night. michigan's own kid rock performed before a crowd of roughly 12,000 in one of the great concert venues out west outside of denver. red rock where romney claimed new momentum. >> did you get a chance to watch the debates? they have supercharged our campaign. i have to tell you that. >> both campaigns insist they are winning. in fact, beneathler even concede they are down in any battleground state. with so much riding on turnout both campaigns and particularly it seems the obama campaign fear any whiff of lose cog cost them a small slice of voters. in turn a state.

while the organizational efforts are directed towards the base, romney previewed the message he will punch in the campaign's final stretch. presenting himself as the bipartisan bridge builder. >> i came in and some of the folks here were holding signs, democrats for romney. all right. i love that. i love that. paul and i have a few things in common. one is we both learned how to reach across the aisle in our elected office to find ways to work with democrats, republicans, independent to get the job done. >> and romney accused the president of unloading a tax rather than presenting solutions. >> the president's status quo campaign, you know, going forward with the same ideas as we have seen over the last four years is -- why he is slipping. and it is why our campaign is gaining. it is why this movement is growing across the country. >> the obama campaign is responding to that charge with a 20-page book let called a blueprint for america's future which the president unveiled and

stops in florida and ohio. campaign plans to mail 3.2 million voters in the battleground states. >> last night and throughout this campaign i laid out a plan for jobs and middle class security. unlike mitt romney, i'm proud to talk about what is in my plan. >> the question is with 13 days to go how much can this plan help the campaign? obama campaign argues voters are just tuning in. there is a real question about why they didn't put this out before the debates themselves. romney campaign seemed to greet the booklet with glee when reporters didn't bring it up in a mid air gaggle. romney senior adviser kevin madden decided to do it himself. >> mob asked me about the plan. i would say that it is a glossy panic button. >> meanwhile in their own conference call for reporters obama aides argue the president is well positioned to win a second term.

senior strategist david axelrod also implicitly acknowledged confidence might also be a head fake. >> we know what we know and they know what they know. i'm confident we will win this race and we will know who is blurring and who isn't in two weeks. >> who is bluffing? well, between won't have to wait two weeks to know whether the candidates are bluffing. you just have to keep an eye on where they are physically in the final days. romney is scheduled to shuttle back and forth between ohio and iowa over the next three days. that tells you something about what they think they have to do in order to get 270. both biden and ryan campaign there today. and last night president obama asked buckeye state voters yesterday whether they can trust mitt romney. >> how you know me. you know i mean what i say. you know that i do what i say i'm going to do. >> i swear doesn't thaw sound -- wasn't that the bush '04 closing argument?

in car country where one in eight jobs is tie to the auto industry the president also tied that trust issue to the auto industry. >> if you say that you love american cars during a debate, you are a car guy, but you wrote an article titled let detroit go bankrupt, you definitely have a case of rommesia. the people of dayton don't forget. the people of ohio don't forget. >> by the way, ohio has now overtaken florida as the state with the most money has been spent on ads in the presidential election. a whopping 177 million. florida has more media markets and larger state, more expensive media markets. that's quite an achievement by ohio. heck of a job. speaking of ads, clint eastwood is the star of a new one from american crossroads that's supporting mitt romney. this time instead of a 13-minute

monologue of rambles like we saw at the rnc, the ad was taped in eastwood as house in california and will run in seven battleground states. >> did the last few years america has been knocked down. 23 million people can't find full-time work. we borrowed $4 billion every day, much of it from china. obama's second term would be a rerun of the first and we can't survive that. we need someone that can turn it around past and that man is mitt romney. there's not much time left in the future of our country is at stake. >> imagined the taped video that introduced romney for his convention that might? outside groups are facing a conundrum in final days of the race. they have basically run out of places in the battleground to buy ad time and that's producing some unusual 11th our buys in races that are not supposed to be that close. pro-romney super pac restore our future. reserved $300 thousand now of

the time in maine. maybe that's for that maine electoral vote, maybe new hampshire. but, you know, they want to mess around and they have the money. remember in maine the statal indicates electoral votes by congressional district and if there is one that could steal it would be that second. the democratic super pac majority pac made a half million dollar buy on behalf of bob casey. he held a big lead. polls have shown that race tightening. casey always ahead. democrats swear behind the scenes casey has the -- has his path and that tom smith gathered the republican vote. we will see. it also means they have extra money to spend. just as romney is trying to move to the middol domestic policy, foreign policy, social issues, we have a new reminder of how much the conservative bent of the republican party can be a drag on romney's campaign. romney spent the last would months trying to reverse the perception that the republican

party is out of the mainstream on reproductive rights. after the pr disaster missouri republican candidate todd akin set off in august with his, quote, legitimate rape comments, even running ads like this one. >> those ads say mitt romney would ban all abortions and contraceptions seem extreme. like flood it. turns out romney doesn't oppose contraception at all. in fact, he thinks abortion should be an option in cases of rape, incest or to save a mother's life. >> the fact that romney had to run that ad tells you something, by the way. anyway, romney steadily has been shrinking the gender gap but now and perhaps the worst possible time another senate candidate walked into a controversy on rape and abortion. >> i believe that life begins at conception. the only exception i have for -- have an abortion is in that case of the life of the mother. i just -- i struggled with it myself for a long time but came

to realize life is a gift from god and i think even -- week life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that god intended to happen. >> at a news conference immediately after the debate, mourdock tried to fix those comments. >> are you trying to suggest somehow i think god ordained or preordained rape? no, i don't believe that. anyoning that suggests that, that's a sick and -- twisted -- no, no, that's not even close to what i said. >> republicans are trying to argue mourdock's views are not different from donnelly. he put out a statement saying richard and aalong with millions of americans, including joe donnellying believe life is a gift to god to try to construe his words as anything other than a restatement of that belief is irresponsible and ridiculous. romney campaign quickly distanced themselves from mo

mourdock. governor romney disagree was richard mourdock's comments. awkwardly this new ad starring governor romney just started running in indiana. >> this fall i'm supporting richard mourdock for senate. as state treasurer richard worked with governor daniels to balance the budget and made government morgue accountable. as senator, richard will be the 51st vote to repeal and replace government-run health care. >> as we said, this comes at a terrible time for romney. as he is trying to move on the middle here, he has this issue. if romney doesn't win and luke russert, i'm going to bring you in on this and throw to you on this comment, if romney comes up short, you are going to have a bunch of conservatives that will blame romney, blame the campaign. when you look at the poll over the last year, romney's favorable ratings are better than the favorable ratings of

the republican party. if obama wins he will do it on the backs of aender gap and hispanics. is that mitt romney's issue or the issue of the republican party? that's an interesting question if that's the way things turn out on election day. >> that's the $64,000 question, chuck. if there is romney loss does it make the pear trend more conservative or moderate? that's something we will see in a lame duck session. ping chuck vh1. >> classic. >> i'm sorry, classic. that dates you more. >> don't trust no one over 40 now. that's my problem. >> absolutely. you watch those videos. chuck will be back in just a few minutes with a close-up on colorado. why that battleground state isn't getting respect it deserves. up next, we will hear from both the obama and romney campaigns as they sprint to the finish. whos that momentum? could mourdock's comment change the dynamic of the race all over again? still to come, senate showdown. is it deja vu all over again for

republicans in the mutt meg state connecticut? democrat gets a leg up in one of the nastiest races in the country. first a look ahead at the president's schedule. mitt romney's schedule today, a busy one. you are watching "the daily run-down" only on msnbc. jay leno, romney's in iowa. [ female announcer ] food, meet flavor. flavor, meet food. it's time for swanson flavor boost. concentrated broth in easy to use packets. mix it into skillet dishes, for an instant dose of... hell-o! [ female announcer ] get recipes at flavorboost.com.

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we have gone through four debates now. we have gone through four debate with the vice presidential debate and my debates. and we haven't heard an agenda from the president. that's why his campaign is taking on water and our campaign is supposed is moving full speed ahead. >> the president tried to blunt

that argue by releasing a new book let that outlines his plans for a second term. but some democrats are asking is it a little too late to do such a thing? atlanta democratic mayor reid joins me now on behalf of the obama campaign. mr. mayor, thank you so much for bog the show. >> glad to be with you, luke. good morning. >> mayor reid, the president's senior strategist, david axelrod, said this about the booklet. >> of course, the pamphlet reflect it is ideas the president advanced throughout this campaign about where we need to go as a country. building on the progress that we have made. it is the -- the plan that he talked about at the convention. and it is the plan that he talks about every day. but we wanted to codify and put tonight one place. >> now, looking through this pamphlet there is not a lot of new ideas here. i cover capitol hill. a lot of the ideas went to die on capitol hill. why is president obama putting out this type of literature 13 days before the end of the campaign?

shouldn't it have been earlier if this was his big idea? >> not at all. i mean, we are in the phase of the campaign we are grinding it out. and many of the ideas that -- in that booklet are what has allowed us to generate a more than 5 million jobs and bring unemployment bell i 8%. we are not going to allow the folks in romneyville to launch baseless attacks without providing individuals in the background, with factual counter arguments. that's what we are doing. we are not going to leave any charge by mitt romney who the central point of his economic plan is a factor and not a tax cut he can't pay for and he can't explain. so while he is talking about the president's plan, we are going to make sure that voters in battleground areas have our concrete plan and also emphasize our concrete results. but we are not going to let the folks in romneyville continue to make these baseless charges. we are also going to focus on mitt romney's term as governor. where he did such a poor job

that he left with an approval rating under 38% and where he would not have been re-elected as governor of massachusetts and where he left democrat deval patrick with a billion dollar budget deficit to clean up. while he wants to talk about president obama, we are going to be having a conversation about him and his failed record in massachusetts. which is why he rushed to run for president and lost in 2008. we will be sending him home again. >> mayor, i want to ask you about what is looking like an increasing problem important the obama campaign and that is demographics especially when it comes to white voters. our last nbc news "wall street journal" poll showed mitt romney leads president obama 59% to 36% among white voters. many nonpartisan strategists say that number is under 38%. president obama's pathway to re-election is difficult even with the latino and african voters across the country. why is president obama 36% among white voters and what can he do to up that number? >> i think that he needs to

focus on job creation and lay out what he did to save the country from the great depression. certainly emphasize on what he did to stave the automobile industry. that's what is holding blue cole sxar white voters in the state of ohio. i have to tell you this, luke. only in mitt romney's mind is a path where he sits at 206 electoral votes right now and the president sits at 246, more favorable position to be in. we have got to get to 270. that's the part of the campaign we are in right now. any normal person would prefer to be in a posture where even according to nbc we are at about 246 right now. we are ahead in ohio. we are very strong in virginia. where we have a great cincinnati candidate in tim kaine and will win nevada. the only thing the folks in romneyville are doing is they are moving forward with a confidence gain. they are walking around talking about a lot of bluster and it is not backed up by --

>> can you do this -- can you do this winning 36% of the white vote? >> the answer is that we can. and we are actually going to perform better than 36%. we are going to get those votes over the next 13 days. but the data you laid out isn't the case with our white voter performance in ohio. it is not the case with the white voter performance in virginia. and it is not the case with the white voter performance in nevada. and you well know that in the last 13 days this is all about the electoral college and battleground states. so while you may have a national poll that shows white voter performance at that, you really have to dig far deeper and let's go to the balance grounds and look at white voter performance in the battlegrounds. >> thank you very much for being on the program. we appreciate it. be well. >> thank you for having me. >> mitt romney insist his campaign is the with the

momentum case he will likely make again when he health to the biggest little city in the afternoon, reno, nevada. bay buchanan, senior adviser to the romney campaign and joins me now. before we get to that, i want to get your -- comment here on the senate candidate, republican from indiana, richard mourdock, who said this last night at a debate. >> i believe that life begins at conception. the only exception i have for -- to have an abortion is in that case of the life of the mother. i just -- i struggled with it myself for a long time. i came to realize life is a gift from god. and i think that even with -- when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is -- something that god intended to happen. >> does the romney campaign believe god intends rape? >> absolutely not. and -- i believe our campaign has already put out a clear statement. the governor has positioned -- long standing, he believes

that -- against abortion except in cases of rape and incest. and life of the mother. and that's been his position for a long time now. he's been very consistent about that. and he disagrees entirely with what the senate candidate is say. >> would a romney administration make any case to take away the current contraceptive rights in 24 this country? >> no. he made that very clear. that's never been an issue in any campaign i have been, to be quite honest, some 30, 40 years i have been involved in republican are conservative politics. clearly there is no effort whatsoever with -- with president romney want to int interfere with women's access to contraception. >> does this hurt. >> not our campaign. that's what we are focused on, the romney campaign. we have enormous momentum. we are excited where we are 13 days out. >> i want to talk about a demographic problem that you guys are facing. that's amongst latinos.

our poll shows obama beats romney 70% to 25% among latinos. romney sits 57% negative rating among latino voters. states like practice, nevada, colorado, why dolla teen owes distrust governor romney so much. >> you know, it goes back -- that -- the latino population is generally speaking part of the democratic base. and so what we are trying to do, obviously is reach out to all americans. no matter what they are -- ethnic back ground is and bring them aboard and have done a fine job. clearly, when you go into the very, very core of democratic base the toughest sell you have. they are very much loyal to that party and to the president. i think the key is that we are bring something aboard and our message important them as well as it is for all americans and that is we offer an opportunity for jobs. >> george w. bush won 40% of latino vote in 2004. so they are not completely loyal to one side.

it shows there is room for growth. how come governor romney can't do that? >> we are doing everything we can. our message is clearly resonating with americans. that's what our goal is, not -- for one group over another but for all americans. and the key is we can't afford four more years. i think that's what americans realize. latino, black, white, they all realize we can't afford four more years. as they make the decision in the next two weeks i think they will realize they need to vote for opportunity for all americans to get americans back to work and for brighter future for our kids. >> last few days and weeks we have seen a more moderate mitt romney to the public, the etch-a-sketch, in full array it seems. i want to read this quoted by stephen hayes from the conservative publication "weekly standard,". romney was so determined to avoid talking like george w. bush he spent much of the night sound like barack obama.

there seems to be some leeway given by the base for governor romney to go out and appear to be more moderate. you know as well as i do the republican party at least in congress is more conservative than it has ever been. how would that -- how would that gel in a romney administration? >> well, you know, what -- we are -- what i can tell you personally, conservatives are ecstatic, more excited, republicans are more excited about this race than i have seen in many, many general election. we are completely behind governor romney. i think that it is a misperception to suggest he's changed. what he went out there and did in this last debate is talked exactly right to the voter about what his policies are. he laid it out. and -- he was enormously presidenti presidential. he has a great knowledge of foreign policy and laid out what he will do. i think the people are responding. as for congress this is a congress that wants -- republican congress, conservatives in congress, want to be able to work with governor romney. that's who they know that together they can put this country back on a track where we are working again. we will have a smaller, tighter

government, more efficient government. and an economy that grows and not -- stagnant as it has under this presidency. >> thanks so much for joining us. >> certainly. good to be with you. >> take care. tough tuesday on wall street. dow suffers its biggest drop since june. what's in store today? the market run-down is next. plus a possible cease-fire in syria. but first, today's trivia question. who was the most recent elected vice president to never serve in congress? i will give you a hint. ♪ i'd like to thank eating right, whole grain, multigrain cheerios! mom, are those my jeans?

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on our radar this morning, how long will a syrian cease-fire last? is linda mcmahon beginning to fade in connecticut? but first, to syria. where the envoy for the u.n. and the arab league announced the government and damascus, rebel leaders, agreed to a cease-fire during the upcoming four-day muslim holiday. presidents assad is expected to release a statement on the agreement today or tomorrow. it is unclear how the truce will be monitored, however. back at home, in connecticut, new quinnipiac poll shows democrat chris murphy has a six-point lead on republican opponent linda mcmahon in the connecticut cincinnati race. the two are virtually tied in a poll earlier this month. surprising considering how bad a campaign murphy has run up to this point. demographics coming into play. finally, ohio voters are taking to the polls pretty early this year. ohio secretary of state reporting yesterday with two weeks to go until the election,

more than 1.6 million ohioans cast a ballot or requested an absentee ballot as part of early voting in the battleground state. that nearly matches the 1.7 million million early ballots that came in before election day in 2008. and guess what, folks. we have still got two weeks to go. is that romney enthusiasm or the obama ground game? the $64,000 question. the federal reserve has s coming out with the monthly policy decision today. investors are expecting the central bank to stick with its bond buying program. here to join us now, cnbc's most famous market run-down guest, none other than an dry ross sorkin. how are you, sir? >> i hear you are wearing loafers today, not boat shoes. >> you will be mistaken, my friend. but socks are a must in this type of cold weather. >> let me give you a quick run-down. it looks like we are going to open up higher today after what was a horrific last three days.

market lost $500 billion with a "b" in part because of worries about a slowdown in china. slowdown here. we had actually warren buffett on squawk box this morning and he talked about a slowdown he was surprised by. in nonetheless he said he was using this as a buying opportunity and said he was buying up shares of wells fargo. big bank out in california. we had earnings today from at&t which were better than expected. boeing also came in with earnings better than expected. and in the world of wall street, dow chemical announced they work cutting 2400 jobs in the -- stock looks like it will be going up as a result. the other big company that people are keeping a close eye on is facebook. they came out with their earnings last night. better than expected, too. so -- you should see a -- higher market for most of the day. of course, as you said we will be watching to hear what the fed has to say. but there is not a huge expectation that they are going to be changing their ways in the short term at least. >> facebook making a comeback. thanks for joining us slight

comeback. up $22. >> inch by inch. be well. next, chuck is back with a state that could be a pivot point in the race. no, it is not flova. but, no, it is -- a state we like to call colorado. chuck is going to come back and show you why it could be the president's western warranty. "the daily run-down" will be next.

mitt romney is wrapping up a western swing state tour before heading backing to a critical midwest battleground claiming new momentum with 13 days to go. peter alexander is live in las vegas still. good morning to you. what do we know today? >> another full day before heading out to nevada. we are in nevada from the event he held last night. he wants to stop in reno and then heads to the -- iowa area and not too far away. cedar rapids from where the president is going to be stopping. where these guys stop is, as you noted, travel plans, says a lot about the state of their campaigns and where they think these campaigns will be decided. last night, we witnessed what we heard throughout the last couple of days from mitt romney which is -- the sort of strong, aggressive tone of leadership but also he is trying to make it seem like this is a movement. saying things like the campaign sing supercharged. and directly sort of referring to that idea of a movement

behind him and i can say having travelled with him for ten months i have never seen this sign before. two signs placed just to fit in the camera shot. of course, democrats for romney to try to project him as a bipartisan leader as well. really trying to expand their audience as it were in final days. >> it was an interesting sign. reminds me of the obama '08 campaign. they reflected to venture that ryan budge debt not get one democrat yuck vote. that's politics, my friend. good to see you. be well. let's bring back chuck from chicago. he is on his own whirlwind tour of the country. chuck, what do we know about colorado, my friend? >> thank you, sir. well, it is deep down time. come on. we love our animation. colorado is the rodney dangerfield of the battleground states. it gets no respect. we are going to take a deep dive into what it takes to win the state and why it actually may be

a critical piece of the puzzle, 270, for the president or mitt romney. it is a way for the president to win re-election without flova. states that have gotten far more attention than colorado. tuesday mitt romney and paul ryan trying to flip the state that backed the president by nine points in 2008. >> we are on the homestretch now and -- i think the people of colorado are going to get us all the way there. what do you think? >> one of the big keys in the state these days is the hispanic vote. romney's campaign believes he is doing better with hispanics in colorado than in other states. all he has to do is keep it relatively close. the president who is heading to denver tonight has to run up the score with hispanics which make up a growing part of the electorate. a trend we saw in nevada and now we are seeing it in colorado. let me take you through the numbers. 2004, hispanics went for john kerry by big number, 38 points.

they made up 8% in the electorate. four years later president won hispanics by a smaller margin, 23 points. overperformed with hispanics out west. but hispanics made up 13% of the electorate. look at the jump. more 507b% jump there. hispanics helped put michael bennett over the top in the senate race against ken buck in 2012. 12% of the electorate in the nonpresidential year. they are the presidential potential fire wall in colorado. yes, maintain to get larger margins and hope the hispanic vote ends up as 14 or 15% of the electorate. vice president biden made a direct appeal whlast week. >> over 25% of all public school children in k through 12 are hispanic. the american people see what barack and i see and you see. they see nothing but promise in that.

nothing but promise. >> for mitt romney his best chance of winning colorado probably now rests on women and independent swing voters. all told, $76 million has been spent on ads in colorado. puts the state fourth on the list behind florida, ohio, and virginia. here is why colorado could wind up being perhaps more important than all three of them. let's start with our map right now showing the seven tossup states. if the president were to lose florida, virginia, ohio, he actually could still get 270 if he wins wisconsin and new hampshire, two states carin. wisconsin is a state that has been republican since the '80s. and then iowa. a state that gore won. then the western states of nevada and colorado put him over the top. if romney wins colorado, the president then has to go and win something else in ohio or virginia or florida. luke, that's the point here. every presidential election, you

know, when your dad saw florida, remember, a lot of people didn't see florida as the pivot point in 2000. until october and until your dad pointed it out. in 2004 everybody was trying to relitigate florida and it turned out ohio was the pivot point. in 2008, there was a lot of focus on florida and ohio. and virginia turned out to be the state that matched -- could be we are all focused on last -- the last three campaigns. could we be missing what is staring news the face here and it is long nights -- >> you get the credit for that. colorado, colorado, colorado. chuc chuck, michael bennett in 2010, when he won in a republican year, won women 56-40. independents 62-41. i don't expect you will see those numbers again. >> you won't but this is -- colorado for the president to wins the not just hispanics. has to win on the -- has to win women by a bigger margin or -- than he did four years ago or by the same margin he did four years ago. it is how michael bennett won.

he did it and i will tell you what is interesting about the bennett race against buck. republicans say buck ran a terrible campaign. but the ad -- campaign itself never brought up abortion. it was done in direct mail appeals to women voters, very micro targeted campaign. and that is what we have been seeing with the president. >> and if you remember back to the '08 primary, barack obama destroyed hillary clinton in colorado. strength of hips ground game there in that caucus state. proud of that ground game, in that there since '08. another state we will see ground game versus supposed romney amendment will be fascinating. >> incredible -- by the way, luke, colorado used to be an incredible -- republicans used to own ground game there. it really -- that state party is a mess. the romney folks in the rnc had to go in and fix it and done a good job. i think they have caught up pretty close to where obama is. you have to remember they started in a deep hole when you think about where they were with the state of their party just two years ago in the state of

colorado. >> in 13 days we will see which candidate is stuck in colder weather in colorado. thanks, chuck. we will see from you cincinnati tomorrow. up next, our political panel will be here. we are talking closing arguments in the mourdock mess. brian williams is spending two days on the campaign trail with president barack obama as he sets out on the seven-state campaign swing. we will have part of their conversations from the trail tomorrow on the show. but first, the white house soup of the day. this is one you can set your watch to. classic good old chicken noodle dates back to the founding of the republicans 1776. we will be right back. zac brown will take us out there. we will take this. ♪ the people really love snapshot from pgressive, but don't just listen to me. listen to these happy progressive customers. i plugged in snapshot, and 30 days later, i was saving big on car insurance. with snapshot, i knew what i could save

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will are just 13 days left to the election. vying for the remaining undecided voters. president obama's campaign is offering up specifics for his second term agenda. former governor mitt romney is making his move towards moderation. joining me now, r president of the super pac american bridge. jennifer rubin, rights for "the washington post's" right turn blog. john ward, senior political reporter for the huffington post. second biggest nationals fan behind me. welcome to all of you. i want to start off with this recent development we have seen in the last few weeks which is moderate mitt. a little video to play. we will get your opinion on the way out. >> we can't kill our way out of this mess. i want to keep our pell grant program growing. i'm not in favor of rounding people up and taking them out of the country. i'm looking to cut taxes for

middle income people. number one, pre-existing conditions are covered under my plan. number two, young people are able to stay on their family plan. >> a new mitt romney. you are a self-described conservative hawk, if you will. how does this play within the base if he becomes president? >> well, govern sing a different proposition than campaigning. i think what's going on is every one of those little snippets that you have put out there has been part of the campaign. the question now is emphasis. they feel that they are in a position unlike the obama camp where they don't have to go to the base. they know the base is with them and know the base desperately wants to get rid of the president. so they feel like they have an attitude in terms of tone and approach to go right for the moderate voters and the women voters. older women voters. and that's why i think have you seen a tonal difference that's been quite noticeable. in terms of policy, his plan always covered pre-existing issues. he has always been an advocate of using heart but also soft

power in foreign policy. the question of what you emphasize as you are going towards the moderate vote, what is strike sing that the president is still having to fight so hard for his traditional base and still going so hard on abortion, still going so hard on contraception and still trying to round up college kids. that's indicative of the -- campaigns are. >> doesn't sound like the john bolton foreign policy we saw the other night by any means. >> well, mitt romney is no barack obama. very clear. he is not in favor of sequestration. he was very clear he doesn't think reset. he doesn't think we should be kicking israel in the teeth. >> i-want to get to you. talk about that. i mean, you obviously are the king of opposition research. democratic party with -- more of an effort to paint the differences between mitt romney of october today and mitt romney, just a few months ago? >> i think that the emphasis should -- let me start by saying at this point in time governor romney would promise voters, unicorns and rainbows and ice cream if he thought that would win votes.

i think that we are going to see from the next 13 days is coming to hit on his extreme -- extreme positions and -- it is not so much the ploep as much as where he is and the most extremes. you can say he is a moderate or believes this. what about for the 18 months where he was a severe conservative laying out these very, very conservative azwraen items? that's what we are going to continue to focus on over the next 13 days. >> you have been surprise -- this is one of the most conservative republican congresses we have ever seen from 2002 to -- 2010 to 2012. mitt romney can push this to -- push this narrative? i was surprised he used the word severe conservative. that was odd. i'm not sure what he meant by that. i think that, you know, as jennifer noted, the base is going to be there and i think there's even now still -- i'm sensing the numbers show very high enthusiasm among the base. i still -- still think there is

a process going on among republicans and conservatives who may have been unsure about mitt who are, i think, that will continue to increase among them. i them. i think obama will get a lot of his base, but i do think it's telling he is trying to get them out. if romney gets into office, you raise a great question how he deals with the tea party conservatives. >> it would not be an easy thing tong deal with, especially as a moderate republican. they don't like them too much. >> they don't. >> trivia time. we asked, who was the most recent elected vice president to never serve in congress? the answer? .spiro t. agnew. do you get it? baltimore's beer, maryland, crab cakes, football, that's what maryland does. agnew was governor of maryland but he never actually served in congress. vice president nelson rockefeller also never bed in congress, but he was appointed, not elected as vice president. we got you on the technicality.

do you have a political trivia question? e-mail us at the daily rundown at msnbc.com. we'll be right back with our power panel. want to give your family more vitamins, omega 3s, and less saturated fat? it's eb. eggland's best eggs. better taste. better nutrition. better eggs. it's eb. two. three. my credit card rewards are easy to remember. with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card, i earn 1% cash back everywhere, every time. [ both ] 2% back on groceries. [ all ] 3% on gas! no hoops to jump through. i earn more cash back on the things i buy most. [ woman in pet store ] it's as easy as... [ all ] one! -two. -[ all ] three! [ male announcer ] the bankamericard cash rewards credit card. apply online or at a bank of america near you.

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panel. rodell mole i know, jennifer ruben and john ward. there is a hiccup possibly from mitt romney last night in indiana. the senate republican candidate there richard mourdock said that perhaps god intended rape. rodell, this has not been lost on your group with the new web ad out today. let's play a snippet of that. i'm sorry. we don't have the web ad. you have a new web ad. my fault. how important is this for you guys right now? there seems to be some momentum on mitt romney's side. can this be a game-changer to try to tie him to a more extreme element of his party?

the romney campaign wants nothing to do with it. >> whether it's paul ryan's association with todd akin, whether it is alan west and mitt romney's relationship or now richard mourdock and romney's relationship, it shows that he is that severe conservative that he was campaigning to be for 18 months and plus, i think this is going to make waves in an indiana race, a race that i think that democrats can win and will win. >> it's very surprising. coming back in that race, mitch mcconnell cannot have been happy about last night. jennifer, can the romney campaign distance themselves from this? >> i think it's a blip on the map. all the people we just reeled off are unknown people to the vast majority of americans. it didn't work to akinize him before. he's doing well with women. he's re-pughiated it's not his position on abortion. is look, there goes a squirrel moment. >> i think it's a bridge too far for romney to repudiate this

guy, mourdock, because with a lot of the social conservatives, that would discourage them. >> really? >> i do. >> interesting. shameless plugs around the table. rodell? >> i'd like to wish a happy belated anniversary to chris and shannon and to their son who is also my god son. >> and travel to north dakota, get miles points. >> the madison high school marching band will be performing at towson university this saturday. go by. it's a phenomenal show. >> dexter, a wonderful article about a u.s. soldier involved in a fire fight in the iraq seeking forgiveness from an iraqi family that lost people in that fire fight. >> i will read that right after this show. that's it for this edition of the daily rundown". "the daily rundown" road show continues tomorrow. chuck will be live at the heart of the buckeye battleground in the land of the chilly

cincinnati, ohio, that's tomorrow. across the river from kentucky. coming up next on msnbc, the one and only chris jansing with some of her company. thanks for watching. i'll be back on friday. have a daybreak. bye-bye. i'm bill karins with your business travel forecast. a nice quiet day today. all eyes will be on sandy as it approaches areas around cuba and the bahamas bringing showers to florida, but the east coast still in jeopardy over the weekend into the beginning of next week. middle of the country looks quiet but cold air is on the way starting in the northern plains today and spreading towards the weekend. [ male announcer ] feeling like a shadow of your former self?

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